In Instagram: Denver Arts Week (Saturday Night at the Museum)

Before Otis and before Theo, there was a couple- there was us. (Well, there was Omar too- he's our beloved 14 1/2 year old Rottweiler.)Matt and I have been married for 4 years and this year our anniversary coincides with Denver Arts Week. It's the perfect way for us to celebrate.
Since the weather has been spectacular we thought, that in addition to Arts Week activities, a little walking tour of LoDo might be nice too. 

Larimer Square

Old and new...

I took these photos on my phone and ran them through the Instagram filters because I wanted to memorialize the day (and not drag around my real camera). I have to tell you, I'm surprised the camera on my iPhone even works. A few months ago Theodore was smiling and clapping his hands. I waved to him from the other side of the yard where I was gardening with Otis. Then Theo moseyed over to the outdoor lounge chair-- the one with a cup holder which is where I had placed my cell phone-- and yelled the word "hone"(no 'p')before taking the phone and hurling it across the cement driveway. Some shattering ensued. My phone does not look all that great, but I've come to the conclusion that it's probably best to wait until our boys are at least in 1st grade before I purchase/replace anything of value...and for now, I can still take a few decent pictures with my broken phone.

Okay, back to the weekend.

Denver Arts Week is a week long celebration of arts and culture in the city, and it runs from November 2nd-10th. We secured a babysitter for Saturday night and hit the town. The city's museums were open to the public without charge, and shuttle buses took us where we wanted to go. (This event is called "Saturday Night at the Museum" and you should *totally* put it on your calendar for next year.)
There were lots of museums to choose from, but we settled on the Clyfford Still Museum, which is one of my favorites and my husband had yet to visit. I was toying with the idea of going to the Kirkland Museum (Cherner chairs, yes please!) because children under 13 aren't allowed and this would have been a perfect time to go (as we were sans children). But we spent so much time at Still and still (whoops, no pun intended) had to shuttle over to the Museum of Contemporary Art, which is on the other side of town and a few blocks away from where we were going to have our anniversary dinner.

"Redacted"-- yes, I have experience with this...

After our museum-hop it was time to eat. We had 9 p.m. reservations and I was hungry! 
When we got to ChoLon, a fantastic modern Asian bistro, it was jam packed. We gave the hostess our names (I got my OpenTable points), and went over to the bar for some pre-meal cocktails. The meal itself was delicious: Soup Dumplings (with french onion and Gruyere), Mushroom & Asparagus Salad (with sous vide oyster mushrooms and a truffle soy vinaigrette), fried rice (with dried pineapple, tofu and a poached egg), and Kaya Toasts (which have been written up here). My husband ordered some meat plates. 
We both agreed that it was a perfect way to spend the day and the night... 
On Sunday we took the boys to the Van Gogh exhibit at the Denver Art Museum. Tickets were sold out for the day, but I ordered the tickets in advance. Good move. The exhibit was beautiful and thematic, and I may have to go back just one more time before it leaves Denver in January. 

It was a high art, high culture sort of weekend. It was so much fun! 

What are your favorite spots for art in Denver? Or in your own hometown?

And here's some miscellany for you...

I love this print.
And this breakfast. Which I top with fantastic green chili.
I'm picking up this tote.
If you find yourself in Denver, definitely check this out (and get tickets in advance. Weekend slots get sold out.)
I think this pie looks divine. (Thanks to this blog for putting me on to it.)
Can you ever have too many radios...
or too many cookbooks...
or too many aprons.
If you are a parent, or just like children's books, this is hilarious.
I plan to read this next.
And if you want to do something nice for a stranger, this is how you can.